As the influential “Fourth Branch of Government” the Press impacts our understanding of all topics. So how is the media here in Sacramento addressing the topic of sustainability? Attendees of the next Sacramento Sustainability Forum (SSF) will have the opportunity to ask that question, find out what key members of our local media are doing themselves to be more sustainable, and learn about how these news leaders view the sustainability of their industry. The Sacramento Sustainability Forum has assembled a panel of local media leaders that includes: Joe Barr, News Director – Capital Public Radio, Ben Ilfeld, Co-Founder and Operations Manager – The Sacramento Press, Michael Sanford, VP of C

The Sacramento Bee and other McClatchy newspapers are making another round of job cuts. The Bee announced Monday it will cut 25 people by month's end, while McClatchy newspapers including North Carolina's News & Observer and The State in South Carolina announced additional layoffs. The total number of layoffs at the country's third largest newspaper company was not available. Reporters will not be among those cut at The Bee, although the paper will lose a photojournalist, two copy editors, two designers and two others in the newsroom, said Pam Dinsmore, the paper's community affairs director. "We've made the decision that the reporting staff — that's not a place that can go down in any

I have never heard of a newspaper anywhere in the United States that has been so tormented by the truth as I have of the Sacramento Bee. In late 1990 Raley's published and distributed their so-called account of Tom Raley's success story. Then on March 4, 1991, The Sacramento Bee did an article about Raley’s, their success and the man who they had been told and believed had created their success, CEO Chuck Collings. That was the one-two punch that made us come out fighting. What Raley's and the Sacramento Bee wrote were fighting words and we began fighting for the truth. In Raley's history book and the Bee article, Collings was basking in his self proclaimed glory that he was the savior o

 When homeless looking man Frank Nordby realized that if what he believed was true, then an incredible injustice had taken place. He felt if a billion dollars could create this horrible injustice maybe it's possible to tip the scales of justice with a little incentive for anyone who would be willing to investigate his story and prove him wrong. So with the David vs Goliath state of mind,  Frank began offering a $100,000 dollar reward in his quest for the truth. All anyone had to do was disprove with evidence the following claim by our father Charles Nordby:                                                              "I saved Tom Raley's company from going bankrupt" A simple claim with a

Sacramento journalist R.E. Graswich is not sad to leave his 37-year journalism career for a new job as special assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson. “I figure I got one last shot in life here to do something worthwhile as opposed to what you guys do,” he joked while addressing reporters Tuesday. Graswich, 54, left a 35-year career at The Sacramento Bee in 2007. In the two years following his departure from the Bee, he took up “wonderful chances” to work as a co-anchor at KFBK and commentator at KOVR CBS 13, he said. Now, though, he wants to work in the political arena. This is his first week working as a staffer at City Hall in the special assistant position with a salary of $80,000. At Joh

Sacramento-based McClatchy Co. on Tuesday announced a surge in second-quarter earnings following the latest round of company-wide downsizing. More cutbacks are still in the works to staunch a continued loss in revenue. Next week, members of the editorial employee union at The Sacramento Bee, the company's flagship, will vote on a proposal to use accrued vacation days rather than face unpaid furloughs this year. However, a small amount of hiring is still taking place. Net quarterly profit rose to $42.2 million, up from $19.7 million in the second quarter of 2008. Per-share earnings grew to 50 cents, up from 24 cents for the same period last year, according to the report released Tuesday

The current fear goes something like this: "If the newspapers disappear, so does all the real original reporting with it." The basic charge is that there is no business model for "giving away" news online, because online revenue is too miniscule and newspapers spend an enormous amount to get us that amazing original content. The trouble is that a lot of those assumptions are just plain false. Once you start delving into the numbers those assumptions begin to wash away. For instance, what does an average major daily pay, in terms of a percentage of its overall budget, for its editorial department? While one's inclination may be to assume that it is a huge portion, the reality is that the

This survey was conducted of The Sacramento Bee, from Monday, March 23rd to Sunday, March 29th. The aim of the survey was to pinpoint how much of the written content of The Bee was written by The Bee and of that content how much was local and how much was not. Each day was divided into the sections of the paper. Sections of the paper that had no attributable articles were simply not included. Within each section, all the different publications were separated out on to their own lines, with special lines for local Bee content and McClatchy content (from the Washngton bureau, or a foreign bureau). Each mark per line denotes an attribution for a piece of text. Shortcomings of this survey:

Jill Duman's column "My View: We need more than Facebook 'friendship'" in The Sacramento Bee today is scary. However, the online comments below the story are encouraging. Link here. I am having trouble actually putting together a proper response, but I will try. The thrust of the column is that Facebook cannot replace real friendships and community. That could have made for a fine column. Unfortunately, she uses most of her column to demean those who participate in social networks while dismissing the community these networks foster. Hint: facebook does not replace friendship, it supplements. Facebook is a tool. Here are a few choice cuts with some of my responses: "[Facebook] apparent

As the Managing Editor of SacramentoPress.com, and a life-long journalist of more than 30 years, I thought I should start a storyline about what I'm trying to do here. My purpose is to get feedback, and to give you, the potential or current contributor, and above all, to give MYSELF, some idea of what's going on with SacramentoPress.com. Despite my experience as a writer for The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento (and other) magazines, my own blog and with stints at radio, this is as new for me as it is for everyone else. Because this is NEW. The internet is not yet a generation old, blogging far newer. And journalism - well, what is that? Our Thursday, Dec. 18 workshop will answer that, in part,